Welcome to AV Technology Awards Week here at Installation. This week, we are announcing all of our winners from the main awards programme which of course includes counting down the top 5 in our first ever Pro AV Power 20 initiative.
The Power 20 celebrates the most influential individuals in our marketplace who are demonstrating leadership in areas such as innovation, market influence, commercial/business performance, contribution to good causes, education, professional development, diversity and inclusion, and general industry betterment.
Everyone at Installation and Future would like to congratulate all those nominated for this prestigious list, and for all those involved in helping to identify and recognise this marvelous roll call of influential industry leaders.
Without further ado, we can announce that in fourth place on our Power 20 rankings list is:
David Labuskes, CEO, AVIXA
As CEO of AVIXA, Labuskes leads the association’s mission to be a catalyst of growth for the AV industry and a hub for the AV professional community. Before joining AVIXA in 2012, he spent nearly 14 years with RTKL Associates (now CallisonRTKL), where he established and led the firm’s technology design practice into becoming one of the largest and most-respected technology design consultancies in the world.
Under Labuskes’ leadership, AVIXA membership has grown substantially. In 2012 about 18 per cent of its 3,900 members were from outside of North America. Today AVIXA has grown almost 500 per cent to nearly 18,000 members – 40 per cent of whom are from outside the US. AVIXA is the foundational organization for developing AV professionals. It is the organization which provides the ANSI/ISO accredited CTS certification for individuals and the APEX accreditation for companies. In 2019, the CTS exam suite was fully offered in German language adding this third global language to the programme. Global certification holders have grown from approximately 8,000 in 2013 to over 13,200 today.
In 2017, launching the AVIXA brand, Labuskes led the association through a global rebranding experience that reflected the revolution of the industry from a technology focus alone to one that embraces the audiovisual and integrated experiences that we help create and deliver to a truly global industry.
Quickfire Q&A
Who’s had the greatest influence on your career?
My wife. She’s believed in me when I haven’t. She’s inspired and freed me to take risks as a role model and a partner. When I met her, she was my client and was taking no prisoners from the IT department for whom I consulted at the time. By the time we went on our first date, she had already made me a better project manager. And since that time, she’s never let me accept less from myself than I could give.
Who did/do you look up to as a role model professionally?
In my personal and professional life, I follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. He is my role model above all.
How do you measure success?
Through the learning, fulfilment, achievement, and growth of others I’m associated with.
What’s your biggest professional regret?
Taking a $4,000 payment for writing code instead of a 10 per cent equity stake in a start-up that was ultimately worth a $100 million.
If you were a teenager today, what profession would you go into?
Epidemiology
You can read the full interview with David Labuskes, and all of our Power 20 inductees in our special ebook released tomorrow.
Awards week
The rankings countdown continues tomorrow when we unveil the top three positions. The number one ranked person will also receive the Power 20 award for Most Influential Person of the Year.
You can read exclusive long form interviews with all of the Pro AV Power 20 members in a special ebook which will be released on Thursday. A full report on all AV Tech Awards winners will be published in the July/August edition of Installation.
